


Catholic School Shenanigans - Joshler

by noseringTyler



Category: Halsey (Musician), Panic! at the Disco, Twenty One Pilots
Genre: Bisexual Tyler Joseph, Catholic school AU, Coming Out, Fluff, Gay Josh Dun, Homophobia, LGBT, M/M, Making Out, No Smut, Punk!Josh Dun, Roommates, Theatre AU, joshler - Freeform, roommates au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-29
Updated: 2018-09-20
Packaged: 2019-01-26 08:05:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12552976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/noseringTyler/pseuds/noseringTyler
Summary: Tyler and Josh are roommates. Josh is brand new to St. Theresa's Boarding High School, and Tyler wants to keep a low profile. This doesn't work out well when he and Josh are cast as each other's love interests in the school's play: Cephas and Eliot. With Tyler coming to terms with his bisexuality and his growing crush on Josh, an exciting tale ensues.a.k.a.: a butt ton of joshler fluff where good boy™ tyler has to pretend to be in love with bad boy™ josh when they actually are in love and are roommates owo





	1. follow me instead

Chapter One

From the moment Josh Dun walked into St. Theresa’s Boarding High School, Tyler could tell exactly what kind of kid he was. From his messy green hair and his clear opposition to the school uniform, with his loose tie and untucked shirt, Tyler pegged him as a “bad kid”-  probably sent here after not doing exactly as he was told one too many times, whose parents sent him here to be “disciplined.” 

Tyler Joseph had been going to St. Theresa’s since he was in third grade. He had seen bad kids come and go, along with good pastors’ sons, neglected children of too-busy parents, and a few hopeful victims of bullying from old schools, here for a “fresh start.” He loved to play the game whenever someone new arrived - decide what kind of kid they were, why they were here. He and his friends had even tried to keep score of who was right about who. It was a stupid game, but it was fun. They always felt like Sherlock Holmes when whatever they deduced turned out to be right. 

At that moment, when Tyler first saw this green-haired boy, he was intrigued. Even with all the people weaving through the cafeteria, a hundred distractions moving about, Tyler kept his gaze on the newcomer like a cat upon seeing a little red dot. He didn’t even know his name, and yet something about him was eye-catching - something that made Tyler nervous. Despite looking the embodiment of trouble, Tyler couldn’t help but find him attractive. 

But after seeing Josh on that first day, Tyler let all thoughts of him slip to the back of his mind, not caring what happened to them. After all, Josh was one face in a sea of hundreds - St. Theresa’s was huge. Tyler had drama club, and he had his friends, and he wasn’t so intrigued by Josh that he felt the need to see him again.

Until, fate would have it, he did.

It was thursday of the first week of school, and the second bed in Tyler’s dorm room had yet to be filled. Two buildings away, on a different floor, Josh Dun was stuck in the same predicament. By some twist of fate, it was decided that the two would room together, in what was Tyler’s room.

“Hey uh, is this room 420?” Came a voice from the door to Tyler’s cramped dorm room. Tyler was startled, as his room had been silent since he came back from his last class of the day, looking forward to an evening of reading his new book and not having to interact with anyone. Tyler was even more startled when he looked up to discover the owner of the voice was his green-headed mystery, awkwardly standing under the doorway.

“Why do you ask?” Tyler replied. 

“Well uh, something must’ve went wrong when they were assigning everyone’s rooms, because I never got a roommate. And apparently the kid in room 420 didn’t get a roommate either so, here I am.”

Tyler blinked.  _ This _ is his roommate? Tyler wasn’t one to judge a book by it’s cover, but Tyler could tell this boy was trouble. Not only that, but Josh looked even more attractive up close, and he couldn’t stand it. He wished he could lie, and tell Josh this wasn’t room 420 and avoid this boy at all costs, but he knew he would just ask someone else where the room was and be pointed right back in Tyler’s direction. 

“Well, yeah, this is room 420.” Tyler said. Josh nodded, still standing in the doorway, fiddling with his hands. He looked incredibly nervous, making eye contact only with his own fingertips. Tyler was glad to know he wasn't the only one who felt awkward. “You can come in, you know.” Tyler added.

“Right!” Josh said, as if being snapped out of a daydream. He grabbed his trunk and dragged it into the room, walking backwards. Tyler tried not stare at the muscles pushing against his shirt as he pulled the trunk into the room. “I’m Josh Dun, by the way.” He said, letting go of the trunk.   _ Josh Dun _ . Tyler thought.  _ The name rolls off the tongue like a waterfall  _ \-- Tyler cut his own thought off, not allowing himself to continue the strange poem beginning to form in his head. 

“Tyler Joseph.” Tyler said, sticking out a hand for Josh to shake. When Josh shook his hand, Tyler realised he was wearing dark green nail polish. 

“That’s a cool name.” Josh said as he started to unpack, making his bed first. “Really rolls of the tongue.” Tyler turned away from Josh, not wanting him to see the pink tinge spreading across his cheeks. While Josh continued laying out his sheets and comforter, there was uncomfortable silence. 

“So, Tyler, what do kids do for fun around here?” Josh finally asked as he laid out the pillows on his bed and started to unpack all his clothes. 

“What do you mean?” Tyler was taken aback a little by the question. There was always things to do at St. Theresa’s, but Tyler got the feeling he and Josh disagreed on most of what they called “fun.”

“Well, you know. Is there places where people hang out after dinner? Or somewhere to go for a hot date?” He said “hot date” almost sarcastically, but still wanted an answer. 

“I don’t know, really. There’s parties every once in awhile, but they always suck.” Tyler answered

“How come?” Josh asked, folding up some jeans and placing them neatly in his drawers.

“Well, if everyone’s talking late at night or playing music, some hall monitor will come and shut it down. Plus, there’s no girls.” Tyler answered. It was true - the girls dorms were in a completely different building than the boys, on the other side of the campus. Any party at St. Theresa’s was really just a bunch of guys hanging out in a cramped dorm room. Not fun at all.

Josh chuckled. “No girls….never thought about that. Must kinda suck to be straight around here. Lucky me then.” He kept on folding his clothes as usual, as if what he just said was completely normal. Tyler started to ask if he meant what Tyler  _ thought _ he meant, what he was  _ sure _ he couldn’t have meant….but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to deal with the embarrassment of finding out Josh was just joking, that he  _ hadn’t _ meant he was gay, but was equally terrified to know if he was.

Tyler had known for a while now that he wasn’t straight. He knew he liked girls, but somehow realised he felt the same way about boys. But he went to church every sunday and heard what the preachers said - he knew it was wrong to like boys and he didn’t want any part of it. Up until this point in his life, Tyler hadn’t ever met another gay person (that he knew of), and certainly not a gay person he was attracted to. 

Tyler was angry. Of all people that could’ve been his new roommate,  _ this _ is who it happened to be? Someone he was starting to develop a crush on - someone who might be able to like him back? Tyler had had crushes on boys before. But this felt different. All the other boys had been straight. This time, there was a glimmer of hope that maybe,  _ just maybe, _ his feelings could be reciprocated.

And he was terrified.

“Anyways, like I said, do you know of any places to go on a date?” Josh asked, pulling Tyler out of his reverie. “Sorry if it’s a weird question.”

Tyler wracked his brain trying to think of what a date at St. Theresa’s would be like. Considering Tyler had never been on a date, this was difficult.

“Well, there’s a drive in movie place nearby, they play old classics and stuff. The school lets us go there on fridays and saturdays, since the curfew is 1 am.” was the answer Tyler finally came up with.

“Hm.” Josh said, chuckling. “Sounds good.” Josh looked like he was about to say more, but was interrupted by the PA system announcing dinner. “Hey, could you sit with me at dinner?” Josh asked timidly, looking at the ground. “I haven’t really….made any friends yet.” 

“Of course.” Tyler said, still nervous around the attractive boy in front of him. “I’m surprised. You uh, you seem pretty outgoing.”

“I am, but I think people are turned off by the whole ‘green hair’ thing.”

“Well, they’re crazy. I think it suits you.” Tyler said with a chuckle as they walked down to dinner.


	2. tear in my heart

Chapter Two  
Josh liked Tyler from the moment he laid eyes on him - good christian boy, probably questioning their sexuality, adorable, total sweetheart. Josh didn't understand why completely, but he felt like this kid was starved of something, like he desperately wanted to do something he thought he never could. What Tyler was so starved of, Josh didn't know. But he did know Tyler had big brown eyes and cheeks that turned the color of roses whenever Josh would smirk his way or crack a joke.  
This wasn’t the first time he’d flirted his way into the heart of some good christian kid - he was known as quite the playboy at his old school (before he got kicked out). There was something he very much enjoyed about messing around with “straight” guys, who then promptly realised they were definitely not straight. He could sense that repressed gay-ness in Tyler, and smirked at the thought of being the one to make Tyler realise he wanted to date boys.  
Of course, all the guys Josh had been with before hadn’t meant much - sure, he’d liked them all, but they were specks in Josh’s universe, nothing incredibly serious. They all left eventually, and Josh didn’t care. Josh figured his apathy towards actual dating was part of what made him such a playboy - he was never nervous talking to guys and he never feared rejection.  
So why was he so nervous around Tyler?  
Josh’s heart beat faster and faster as he walked into the cafeteria.  
“Josh, hey Josh!” Tyler shouted as he waved to Josh from across the cafeteria. Josh took a moment to see who else was sitting at the table before he sat down next to Tyler.  
“Hey guys this is Josh. He’s my new roommate.” Tyler said to his circle of friends.  
“Nice to meet you dude. I’m Ryan.” A kid sitting on the other side of Tyler said.  
“It’s nice to meet you too.” Josh said awkwardly, suddenly not knowing what to say.  
“Do you do theatre Josh?” A girl with short brown hair and freckles asked Josh from across the table, attempting to break the ice. She was wearing a monogrammed jacket with the name Ashley embroidered in swirly pink letters.  
“Yeah, actually. I’ve done a few plays in the past - not musicals, though.”  
“Why not?” Ashley said.  
“I don’t know….singing in front of people freaks me out, I guess.”  
“Well, you’re in luck!” A loud, excited voice chimed in. Josh turned to see a relatively short kid with spiky black hair sit down next to him. “Sorry - I’m Brendon – I’m directing St. Theresa’s fall drama show this year. You should try out!”  
“Chill, Brendon, he just got here. Could you wait a little before forcing him to join the St. Theresa’s theatre cult?” Ashley said, generating a laugh from the kids sitting at the table, some of whom hadn’t even addressed Josh yet.  
“What?” Brendon asked accusingly. “You’re totally right, theatre is definitely a cult, but it’s like….a fun cult.” He paused. “Whatever. It’s a lot of fun and you’d be perfect for the show we’re doing.”  
“What show?” Josh asked, now intrigued.  
“It’s about a human who falls in love with a nature nymph that was disguised as a human. It's loosely based on a Greek myth, but it takes place in modern times. There’s a lot of magical characters, which would be perfect for you and your green hair.”  
“Be careful though, because things will get awkward if you’re cast as the main role.” A kid sitting on the other side of Brendon spoke up.  
“Ryan, could you not?” Brendon shot Ryan a look, eyes like lasers.  
“What’s wrong with getting the main role?” Josh asked.  
Ryan snickered. “Well, it’s complicated. You see, the theatre program only started up recently, and the administration didn’t want to build a whole new room for rehearsals, so they use the boy’s common room for the fall show and the girl’s common room for the spring show. So, the whole fall show cast is boys.”  
“So? They could do it like Shakespeare, where the guys just play girls.” Josh suggested.  
Brendon laughed to himself. “Man, I wish….but the school wants to prove they’re a “progressive school” by having a play with a same-sex couple in it - so, gay play it is.”  
Josh tried to conceal his grin. Maybe this school would be better than he thought.  
\---  
“You think you are so secretive….but I watch you. I know where you go after class. I know what you are.” Tyler said, reading from the small segment of the script for The Concrete Jungle that he needed to practice for his audition. Each person had to read the same monologue, in which the protagonist Eliot admits he knows Cephas is not human. Tyler wanted nothing more than to be the narrator of the show, who uses magic to bring Cephas and Elliot together. It was the perfect role for him; a big role with lots of lines, but not exactly the center of attention. Tyler dreaded the idea of playing either Elliot or Cephas - if he played a gay character no one would ever stop talking about him, which was his absolute worst nightmare. But he didn't worry much; he had been doing theatre since he was little, he’d been practicing from the moment the play was announced, and his best friend was the director. It was shoe-in, he was sure of it.


	3. you dont need to run

Chapter Three  
The next week went by in a blur of homework and green hair, annotations in assigned readings and marked-up monologues. Josh and Tyler didnt see each other much, being so caught up in their work that when they went back to their rooms at night, they’d just make some small talk before crashing on their respective beds. Tyler had been practicing line after line of Elliot’s monologue until it was perfect, occasionally stopping his hours of practice to watch Josh as he flawlessly executed Cephas’ monologue from the beginning of the play.   
It was a shoe-in for Josh too, he was sure of it.  
All their work led up to one Thursday afternoon when everyone who auditioned gathered around the main bulletin board to see the cast list. Tyler could practically feel the tension in the air as students rushed up to the board, anxious to see who was cast. Tyler rushed up with them and– 

The Narrator (Andrus):  
Ryan Ross

His heart sank into his stomach. How could this have happened? He was so sure he was gonna get the Narrator. If it was Ryan instead, who was he? He looked further down the list and–

Cephas: Joshua Dun  
Elliot: Tyler Joseph

"Oh no." Tyler thought to himself. His mind completely crashed - the disappointment of not getting the role he tried so hard for mixed with the terror of what playing this role meant sent his thoughts into autopilot. "No no no, this can't be happening this can’t be happening this can't be happening" - Tyler felt dizzy. He ran away from the bulletin board as fast as he could, stumbling and blinking and feeling like the world was crashing down around him. "I can't do this. I can't be Elliot." he thought, his mind reeling. "I can't pretend on stage that I like Josh. I can't pretend in real life that I /don't/ like Josh." Tyler burst into his room, flopping onto his sheets face first as if it was his deathbed. "He doesn't like you that way," Tyler, he said to himself. "You'll be super awkward around him and ruin everything. You barely know each other. You’ll get too close to him and ruin everything."  
His racing thoughts in no mood to slow down, he was about to start crying when -   
“Hey” a familiar voice said, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning down to look at him. “It's Josh. Are you okay? Can I sit?” Tyler sat up as Josh sat down on Tyler’s blue comforter. Tyler’s heart was racing, beating ever faster at Josh putting his hand on his shoulder, if only for a second. It was the first time Josh had touched him since they met. It was such a subtle moment, lasting only a second to catch Tyler’s attention. Yet it pulled so much more from him than Josh likely intended. He looked deep into Tyler's eyes, a mixture of worry and excitement colouring his face. He looked sincere, wise, even. “Are you okay?” He asked again. “I saw you run away from the cast list….aren’t you excited?”   
“No.” Tyler said, hugging his knees to his chest. He leaned his head on his knee, hiding a blush spreading across his cheeks.  
“Why?” Said Josh, scooching closer to Tyler. “Are you….nervous? Worried? Afraid what people will think?”   
Tyler chuckled. “How'd you know?”  
Josh sighed. “I feel the exact same way.”  
Tyler looked over at Josh, his green hair already starting to turn blonde. He couldn’t comprehend someone as unique as Josh being nervous about anything. A thought swam into his head that Josh was just lying to make Tyler feel better, but he quickly dismissed it. “You’re nervous too?” he finally asked.  
“Of course.” Josh replied with a bit of smirk. “I don’t want you to think I’m a bad kisser.”   
Tyler didn’t know how to respond.  
Josh chuckled, laying down on Tyler’s bed and staring up at the ceiling. “It’s just so weird, I guess. Like, I’ve been in a lot of shows before, but never one where I play a gay character, or played a character where I kiss someone. It’s a little upsetting.”  
“That you’ve never played a gay character or never kissed someone for a show?” Tyler inquired.  
“A little bit of both, I guess." Josh said. "I’m upset that for a community so known for being full of gay guys –the theatre community, I mean– there’s so few shows with gay characters, and I’m upset that I’ve never kissed someone onstage before….cuz-well-um -” josh paused, awkwardly stuttering over his words; trying to articulate.  
“well, I’m super awkward, and I’ve never done this before-” he started to say. “and we’ll probably have to practice a bunch of times which will make it more awkward, and especially for you because I don’t know you that well and-”  
“Josh.” Tyler interrupted. “Don’t worry. You won’t be awkward. I promise.”  
“Mhm.” Josh replied simply, staring up at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers Tyler had arranged in a galaxy on the ceiling. They slipped into a comfortable silence, both anxious and safe at the same time. It was finally settling in for Tyler that this wasn’t such a bad thing, that getting the role he got was still a huge achievement. After all, directors know what they’re doing. Brendon wouldn’t have given him this role if he didnt think Tyler could do it. But he also realised something monumental - he needed to go into this process bare, nothing to hide, nothing to hide from. Secrets and love, like oil and water, just simply don’t mix.  
They sat silently, Tyler with his knees against his chest. Resting his head on his knees. Josh, laying back on the bed. Tucking his hands under his head.  
“Hey Josh, can I tell you something?” Tyler finally said after a few moments.  
“Anything.”  
Tyler took a deep breath, the type of breath a person can only take before telling a secret they’ve never told anyone, a secret that’s been weighing on a person for much longer than any secret should.  
“I’m gay.”  
Josh looked up at Tyler.   
“Well - not really gay, i mean i still like girls but i, like, also like boys….too?” Tyler stumbled over the sentence, saying words and phrases he’d never used in a sentence before, words and phrases he’d only ever spoken in his head.  
Josh smiled and sat up. “Can I tell you something, Tyler?” His tone was serious, matching near exactly the voice Tyler had used when he had asked the same question.  
“Anything.” Tyler said, leaning closer to Josh. He leaned in closer too, so close Tyler thought he almost heard his heartbeat, fast and slow at the same time. Josh breathed.  
“I’m gay too. But I think you knew that already.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took me so long to update but im back y'all :) comment if u want me to do a lil q & a after my next update!


End file.
